Rose Gottemoeller said the next generation will change how cyber defense is handled

A U.S. government official said that cyber defense has been slow-moving due to the current generation of policymaker's lack of technological understanding.

Rose Gottemoeller, U.S. Acting Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, recently visited the Estonian IT College in Tallinn to deliver a speech about cyber attacks and defense. In this lecture, she noted that a major issue with current cyber defense is the fact that many policymakers around the world don't fully understand technology used today.

"The truth is there are a lot of senior officials in many countries who barely even know how to use an email," said Gottemoeller. "The change will come with the new generation."

Gottemoeller also mentioned that open-source IT and social networking should be integrated into arms control verification.

"In order to pursue the goal of a world free from nuclear weapons, we are going to have to think bigger and bolder," said Gottemoeller. "New concepts are not invented overnight, and we don't understand the full range of possibilities inherent in the information age, but we would be remiss if we did not start thinking about whether new technologies can augment over half a century of arms control negotiating expertise."

Cyber defense has been placed under the spotlight now more than ever with threats recently directed toward both government and corporate entities. Last year, a string of attacks pinpointed many victims like Sony, Bank of America, the Department of Justice, Lockheed Martin, and many more.